Hear a story about the scissor-tailed flycatcher.
Hear a scissor-tailed flycatcher.

from The Birds of Texas
by John L. Tveten

Few birds equal the subtle beauty and graceful elegance of the scissor-tailed flycatcher. Its upperparts are pale, pearl gray, while its whitish underparts are flushed with salmon pink. The wings are dark and and the long, scissor-shaped tail feathers are white with black tips. Adult scissor-tails are approximately 13 inches in length, the male's tail being longer than the female's.

The scissor-tailed flycatcher is one of 360 flycatcher species that inhabit the Americas from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego. Thirty-five flycatcher species are found in Texas. The scissor-tail ranges from southern Nebraska to southern Texas, migrating southward in the fall to Mexico and Central America. During that migration, flocks of up to 50 or more birds assemble across the Texas plains and line the roadside fences. Returning in the spring, they fan out across most of Texas to nest and raise their young. Scissor-tails prefer ranches and farms, mesquite savannahs, and other semi-open areas, but are rare in the far western corner of the state.

A member of the Tyrannidae Family, these "tyrant" flycatchers are aptly named as they rigorously rule their territories, never hesitating to chase off a passing crow or hawk. Swooping repeatedly amidst a tirade of shrill, bickering notes or harsh keck or kew calls, the scissor-tail pecks at the less mobile subject of its wrath until the harried target is only too happy to escape.

Family members - which include flycatchers, kingbirds, phoebes and pewees - can be recognized by their general appearance and habits. With such notable exceptions as the distinctive scissor-tailed flycatcher and the brilliant vermilion flycatcher, they wear drab plumages in shades of brown or gray. They tend to perch in an upright posture on exposed tree limbs or wires and fly out to catch passing insects in the air. Their heads are large and often slightly crested, and they have broad, flat bills surrounded by long rictal bristles, or "whiskers," that help to funnel insects into their gapping mouths. Small prey is captured with an audible snap of the mandibles; larger insects are carried back to the perch and beaten on a limb until tender enough to swallow.

From April through October the scissor-tailed flycatcher ornaments the Texas countryside, catching insects on the wing and dropping frequently to the ground in pursuit of grasshoppers, crickets, beetles and other fare. A few berries supplement the diet, but flycatchers are largely insectivores.

Excerpts from The Birds of Texas by John L. Tveten with permission from Shearer Publishing, Inc.

More Bird Facts Scissor-tailed flycatchers have a black bill and black feet. They typically lay 4 to 6 whitish eggs mottled with brown, violet or gray. The nest is a grass-lined cup of twigs and weed stems in a tree or bush. Immature scissor-tails have short tails and resemble western kingbirds; however, their underparts are pinkish rather than yellow.

Hear Interviews with Experts Visit this website for a list of flycatchers in Texas.